At the International Convention in Nashville, The Lodge was awarded a Bronze Premier Lodge Award. This is not quite as good as the Gold that we were awardrd last year, but these awards are given to a very small percentage of Lodge across the country, and we should be proud.
The only other Lodge in our district that received an award was Anna Maria Island, who also won a Bronze.

Here are just some updates on what is going on with the Moose Legion.
I am happy to see that more members are showing up for Moose Legion meetings.. We feel we are making slow but steady progress in bringing the Moose Legion back to a real force in the Lodge.
We are making great progress on our pavilion project. Although there is still quite a bit of work to be done, we think we will be able to operate it on a limited basis soon. Improvements are being continually made, with the addition of rope lights for lighting.
On June 5th and 6th, Thunderbolt 201 had their quarterly Moose Legion Celebration. We had our fun night on Saturday night, and then on Sunday had the ten new moose members inducted into the second degree of the order, the Moose Legion. One of our members, Frank Lashway, is now a proud Moose Legionnaire.
We continue to have our monthly fundraising dinners on the third Saturday of the month. On Saturday, June 19th we had our Fried Chicken Dinner, along with the raffling off of a bile. Thanks to all who attended that evening.
Our last meeting we were honored by the presence of John “The Greek” Mestopholous, president of Thunderbolt 201. He was there to observe our meeting and offer advice. He was impressed with the progress that we were making and felt good about where we were heading. This is tribute to the leadership of the Moose Legion and all of their members. Their presence will continue to be felt in our Lodge.
We continue to think of different fundraising ideas for the Moose Legion. We will be having our Octoberfest in October and will be having another Chicken RibFest, probably in November, when it is a little cooler. These are always popular events. We look forward to these events.
I am so proud of what we have accomplished in the last year. In addition to the money that was spent improving the Pavilion, approximately $6000 was donated to Moose Charities, Florida Sheriff’s Youth Ranches, a Breast Cancer Fund, and several other charities. Thanks for everyone’s hard work.
Dave Schaaf
Moose Legion Chairman

There will be a special meeting of the LOOM on July 26th at 7:00pm. It is regarding the expansion of the social quarters. By that time, the bids will be in, and we will determine the course of this project. So if you want to have a voice in what is going on in your lodge, please attend this important meeting.

Tickets for the Ray's Game are on sale. Once again, we will team up with Riverview for a bus ride, free beer, and a Ray's ticket on Sunday, August 15th. The bus will leave Ruskin at noon. All this for only $35.00
See Dave Schaaf at the lodge, or call him at 727-510-8936. Reservations are not secured until the money is paid.